This Tiny Village In Alaska May Be Completely Submerged In Just A Few Decades
By Courtney|Published August 23, 2016
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Courtney
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Living and loving life in Alaska, Courtney enjoys living a happy life based on simple principles; work hard, be kind, stay humble. She is an avid dog lover with hobbies that include running, fly fishing, hiking & snowboarding.
It is quite possible that no other place in Alaska has experienced the effects of climate change quite like the village of Shishmaref. In this tight-knit community where locals live a simple life filled with subsistence-based practices, the thought of moving somewhere else is hard to swallow. However, with perseverance and a strong values, these brave people have pledged to stick together no matter what. Because that is what family does, through thick and thin.
Head roughly 130 miles north of Nome to the Chukchi Sea where you will find the barrier island of Shishmaref. This tiny, secluded island in Alaska is just 4 miles long and 1/4 to 1/2-mile wide in some areas.
Less than 650 people live in this tiny village and if you ask the locals, most will say that they 'are all family.' Everyone knows everyone, even the local animals. This is a very tight knit community where everyone looks out for one another.
In this special area, life is slow and simple. Subsistence-based living practices are a necessity to survive. Hunting all year-round as well as fishing are just two ways that local residents are able to feed and cloth themselves. Yet the warmer temps have put a damper on that process significantly.
Due to consistently warm temperatures and rising seas, many fear that the island will be completely underwater in the next decade. From these two factors as well as many ice-free months, erosion has become a serious issue. In fact, over 12 homes have already been lost due to these drastic circumstances.
Where the annual freeze used to occur in October, in recent years it hasn't happened until December or even January. In 1997 a huge storm destroyed over 30 feet of the island's shore and it has only continued to get worse over the last several years.
Earlier this month local residents voted to relocate instead of trying to protect and preserve the land. The relocation process will take quite a while but it is one that we pray goes as smooth as possible. The most beautiful part about this sad news is that the locals have expressed wanting to stay together, no matter where they end up. They don't want to spread out across the state, instead they want to make sure that keeping their tight knit community intact is a priority, no matter where they are in the last frontier.
